Ocean confirmed on moon of Saturn

[Groucho]

Ok, stop pretending you're cool and admit you like Prof. Brian Cox on the telly.

Scientists have confirmed that one of Saturn's moons has a vast ocean of liquid water. As far as I can see, that's water as we know it. Might not sound all that lads, but that's amazing.

Will that be the next stopping point for humans once we get our backsides in gear and go to Mars? In many many years to come, is that the home of humans once the sun has swallowed the Earth? I don't know, just putting it out there.

It might not be life on Mars, but there may be the possibility of life near Saturn.

http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21600083-planetary-science

Earth is not the only orb with oceans. In 2005 Cassini, an American spacecraft, saw plumes of water shooting into space from cracks in the icy surface of Enceladus, one of Saturn’s moons (see picture). These suggest that Enceladus, too, has an ocean—albeit one completely covered by ice. The water in it, theory suggests, would be kept liquid by tides, which create internal friction and therefore heat. On April 3rd a team led by Luciano Iess of the University of Rome confirmed that the ocean exists, and also showed that, like Earth’s, it is not all-embracing. Dr Iess describes, in a paper in Science, how his team mapped Enceladus’s gravity by tracking Cassini’s orbit. The moon’s southern hemisphere is less massive than it would be were there no ocean, but its northern hemisphere is not. So the ocean covers only the southern part of the moon.

 

[ijjysmith]

Wait 'till I tell mrs Ijjy this.

 

[Groucho]

Wait 'till I tell mrs Ijjy this.

The article suggests it's H20. It states 'water'.

That's huge, isn't it?

 

[ijjysmith]

The article suggests it's H20. It states 'water'.

That's huge, isn't it?

It's pretty massive.

Be cooler if it was on Mars. But yes very ace.

*signs up to live on Saturn after being cryogenically frozen

 

[ijjysmith]

AND I had a Sega Saturn

 

[Groucho]

It's pretty massive.

Be cooler if it was on Mars. But yes very ace.

*signs up to live on Saturn after being cryogenically frozen

Is this what future humans could be seeing on a daily basis?;

 

[obc]

love the astronomy stuff. fascinating. and terrifying. but more of a Neil deGrasse Tyson or Michio Kaku kind of guy.

seemed the moons of Jupiter or Saturn were the most likely source for life here.

 

[Groucho]

love the astronomy stuff. fascinating. and terrifying. but more of a Neil deGrasse Tyson or Michio Kaku kind of guy.

seemed the moons of Jupiter or Saturn were the most likely source for life here.

Unworkable perhaps (perhaps not), but interesting, this;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terraforming_of_Mars

 

[chrissyjack]

Not very big , Enceladus, compared to other moons . About the same size as England . We should claim it.

 

[Elong]

Amazing, love this stuff, cheers Groucho.

 

[bluelife]

Would be absolutely freezing though surely, like -50C or something? It says it's only kept liquid by tides. Great stuff though, those pictures of Saturn in the background are amazing, sometimes just looking at the moon gives you weird feelings of smallness, so imagine that.

 

[toffeejack]

Is this what future humans could be seeing on a daily basis?;

yeah i like that, that's a nice view, we'll go with this option

 

[Username]

Alien sharks.

 

[Mutzo Nutzo]

Would be absolutely freezing though surely, like -50C or something? It says it's only kept liquid by tides. Great stuff though, those pictures of Saturn in the background are amazing, sometimes just looking at the moon gives you weird feelings of smallness, so imagine that.

Sounds just like Scotland....

 

[andym78]

The size of it and "plumes of water shooting into space" suggest there's very little gravity so probably not habitable.

If the water's usable it could be used as a stepping stone for a manned mission to visit more distant moons and planets though.

And the presence of water means there could be some form of life there too.